“Stuff” happens

First of which is that discretionary income is now spent on exciting grown up things such as water softeners, garage doors and snow blowers. The second lesson being that all these things, as soon as you have them all in order, will inevitably break down and most likely all at the same time.

The past week the Marken house has been like a bad episode of Home Improvement. Exhibit A: Currently I’m wearing 3 layers because our furnace stopped working, I have 4 clothes lines running through the rafters of the basement because the dryer has stopped drying, and don’t even think about rearranging the pillows on the couch – they’re covering up the hole that “Shoelace” (Reference Marley and Me) chewed in the cushion.

Every one of these “little problems” was unplanned, unaccounted for and not at the top of the list of “things to do” with the extra piles of money lying around. Every reader knows exactly what I’m talking about – entropy, or The Second Law of Thermodynamics; (I had to Google it, so don’t be too impressed.) … which states that everything in the universe is headed towards disorder… Perhaps you’re more familiar with the more common vernacular… “Stuff” happens.

And while this is true for material things, it is also true in relationships (as my pastor mentioned in church on Sunday.) Your marriage is not immune to the laws of the universe. Things may be on track, or not, the best they’ve ever been, or not; but rest assured, forces are acting upon it, moving it towards disorder. Think of a garden, it is only “weed free” if acted upon, left to its own devices it quickly becomes overgrown and unfruitful.

The heater and dryer are being fixed this week, and hopefully Shoelace has learned his lesson and all other furniture will remain intact. In all actuality, not one of the issues mentioned above is really a big deal, but left unattended, or compounded over time, and your universe is now in chaos.

Lesson: Don’t be surprised when your marriage is on the fritz, like our heater. Always take the time to “patch” the relationship -without it – it will break down, just like our dryer. Lastly, be thankful for the things that are running smoothly. (refrigerator, washer, car, etc.) Knock on wood.